[codegeek]

One simple way would be require video submission where you have to speak your name and mention that you have joined upwork as a freelancer. But then upwork would have to spend more money on validations. They probably don't care as much.

I sometimes hire from upwork. My litmus test is simple. I want to talk to you for 5-10 mins on video. If you cannot show up or have issues doing a video meeting, I won't proceed. It may help getting rid of scammers who are hiding behind a fake profile. I remember one guy telling me that he has speech issues and can only "interact" through messages/email. Even if true, I cannot trust someone on the internet like that.

[aarbor989]

According to Upwork support, they do something like this before a contract is actually signed. But in my opinion that's way too late in the process - someone impersonating me could completely ruin my reputation before any contract is handed out

[Nextgrid]

I did one gig on Upwork and at no point I went through a process like that. The client invited me to their Slack, we discussed some more then they accepted the proposal and I did the work. At no point I had to do a video verification step with Upwork itself.